1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to displays used in electronic devices such as laptop computers and avionics and marine equipment. More particularly, the invention relates to a computer program and method for controlling the brightness of a display by proportionally modifying the luminosity of each pixel in the display.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Thin-film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and other types of displays are commonly used in a variety of electronic devices, including laptop computers, avionics and marine equipment, and global positioning satellite (GPS) receivers. Such displays typically have back lights that may be adjusted to brighten the displays when used in bright light and dim the displays when used in low light.
Adjusting the brightness of a back light to brighten or dim a display works well in most applications; however, back lights can only be dimmed so much before they effectively turn off entirely. Thus, once the lowest threshold of a back light has been reached, its display cannot be effectively dimmed any further. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that it is often desirable to dim a display beyond the lowest threshold of its back light in some environments such as in the cockpit of an aircraft or boat at night.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved display and method of operation that overcomes the limitations of the prior art.